First Brew EVER.

Started my first brew ever and it is a cooper stout liquid malt extract with a pound of extra dark dry malt extract and a pound of dextrose pitched with the yeast from the coopers can. Here is what's going on. I pitched my yeast too high probably around 88 to 89 degrees but once it cooled it has remained at a constant 74 degrees.. 24 hours in there is slight bubbling about 2 minutes apart. 48 hours in there is more bubbling about 1 minute apart. 72 hours in there is bubbling about 15 to 20 seconds apart. 96 hours in...nothing. it went completely dead so i took the lid and airlock off and did a gravity reading my original gravity was 1.046 my gravity today is 1.012 so any idea as to what is happening, i'm sure it hasn't fermented out, should i pitch more yeast?? Also read that if you let it sit in primary longer than the recommended 7-10 days the yeast can help clean up some off flavors from being to hot in the beginning.

 

I would just let it sit. The majority of the fermentation has completed. That doesn't mean its completely done just that the bulk of the sugar has been consumed by the yeast. Given your gravity readings I would say it won't go much lower though.

Even at 74 degrees you're a bit too warm compared to ideal temps. And slightly warmer can cause it to work faster.

Pitching more yeast would likely be a waste of time as low as the gravity currently is. I would suggest letting it sit a minimum of another week if not two.

After that check your gravity then again a couple days later. If they are the same, regardless of what it is, you're ready to bottle.

Out of curiosity what did the kit say the final gravity should be?

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i did not check the kit for gravity reading because i added DME and dextrose

 

Leave the beer alone for another week, check the final gravity, if it's the same or perhaps it dropped a bit more, the beer should then be clear and ready to package or if you want to let it sit another week you can, really up to you whether it conditions in the primary or bottle

 

Time heals all beers, well maybe not, but an extra week or two in the fermenter never hurt anything. If you did create fusel alcohols, letting the primary rest may help to tone them down. I speak from experience. When I was a new brewer, I didn't watch my fermentation temperatures in my beers or ciders, and the cider got the "nail polish remover" smell. Nasty. After a month in the fermenter, the small temperature changes in the room helped to burp a lot of it out. Oh, btw, my beer smelled like butterscotch candy from lack of temperature control.

 

Hey the last part of fermentation is the yeast eating up all the diacetyl (tastes like butterscotch). 3 weeks in primary, 4 weeks in the bottle, THEN refrig and drink. The yeast needs time to clean up after itself.

Monty

 

As the other guys said let it stay for fermentation, time wont hurt the beer. Patience is a key here.

 

1.012 is unusually low for an extract batch, you've had stellar attenuation there. It's definitely done, it's not going to go any lower than that. As noted, you fermented much too warm, which is probably partly why the yeast went so unusually low - they were overexcited. You'll have off-flavours, some of which will age out, some of which won't (fusel alcohols, the "nail polish remover" ones, never go away).

It will still be a drinkable beer, but probably not one you'd be proud to challenge friends to taste-test alongside Guinness. That said, this was your first brew EVER, and you made beer! Congrats! There are a lot of lessons you can take from this experience to make your next batch even better. The main ones being:

1. Chill your beer lower before pitching yeast. I chill my ale worts to 65° F, then aerate and pitch.
2. If you're using dry yeast, make sure you rehydrate them properly and are pitching enough.
3. Control your fermentation temperature. You want to keep the wort temperature (not the room, the wort) in the low-to-mid 60's. I do all my ale fermentations at around 63-64° F. The easiest/cheapest way to achieve this is to get yourself a plastic rope tub (for laundry) at Walmart. When I bought mine, they were $8. Put your fermenter in there, then fill the tub with tap water up to a couple of inches below the level of your wort in the fermenter. Cover the fermenter with a wet t-shirt and drape it into the surrounding water so it can wick up more water as it evaporates off the shirt. Use frozen water bottles to maintain the water bath temperature in the low 60's. The wort temperature will be within a degree or two of the water bath's temperature.

Good luck, and congrats!

 

I don't think that 1.012 is unusually low for extract, it depends on the yeast. I have had some extract batches come out around there, although I usually get lower, and if the gravity is the same after testing 48 hrs apart, then it is done fermenting, but it may not be done cleaning up the diacetyl. 74F ambient is a little high, I set my fermentation chamber at 68 for ales, but I bet you made beer. As far as the way yeast works, first the lag, then the eat sugar and make co2 (bubbling in the airlock), then the cleanup which takes a week or two. So 3 weeks is my steadfast minimum, maybe longer for higher gravity again depending on the yeast. Airlock bubbles are interesting, but not the way you track the fermentation. A refractor is a great tool in this case, because you don't care what the gravity is as much as whether it has stopped dropping. I just leave mine on the trub (I don't secondary either) for 3 weeks and I don't have any problems. YMMV

Monty

 

Google "extract 1.020 curse." 1.012 for an all-extract batch is remarkably low.

 

Well I sure am glad I never did because I routinely get lower FGs that that. And I only do extract. It's nice to be too stupid to know it can't be done. I have never heard of the 1.020 extract curse, and I think maybe I have a bit more experience with extract brewing than you do. But maybe not since that 'curse' is news to me.

Whatever, I am not going to argue with you over it, but I routinely get that or lower FGs.

Monty

 

Dude, chill out, I don't brew extract but I've been around long enough to know that it's common for them to finish high. I'm not making this up, lots and lots of people have posted on this topic. I'm not attacking your manhood or calling you "stupid." RDWHAHB, it's Friday!

 

Noted, and I wasn't upset, just that I don't believe in the '1.020 curse', have never experienced it, and I think he should leave the stuff in to let the yeast clean up.

Monty

 

guys i never said that was my final gravity i tested that gravity on day 4 just wait a day or 2 ill check it again after its been 10 days and then i'm sure that will be it.....chill

 

ok it is DAY 7 and i'm almost positive i'm not getting any fermentation because i took a reading 5 minutes ago and it's still in between 1.012 and 1.014 the same as it was on day 4 i think that because i had some bubbles i didn't read as accurate the first time so my %abv is currently 4.7 for a stout porter and i used dme and dextrose with the pre-hopped lme is that low?

 

Dude, from one newbie to another, if there's one thing I've learned so far it's to back off and relax. Let your beer do its thing, and it'll be fine.

3 weeks, then bottle. Stop messing with it!